


My Baby Shot Me Down (Or Rather, Benny Shot Down His Baby)

by BennyGeckoOfficial



Series: Eddie [3]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: (but he did not know this when he killed her), Character Death, Courier is also Benny's old girlfriend, Courier is dead, F/M, Gun Violence, Mention of Throwing Up ?????, this is an au of an au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:28:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BennyGeckoOfficial/pseuds/BennyGeckoOfficial
Summary: so this is likemy courier (Columbia/Eddie)'s universe where she is Benny's fiance, who he left and vowed to return to when he left for Vegas (without going into too much detail)and this is an au of that universe where Benny ends up killing the couriertws for death. obviously
Relationships: Benny (Fallout)/Courier (Fallout), Benny (Fallout)/Female Courier, Benny/Courier
Series: Eddie [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566511
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	My Baby Shot Me Down (Or Rather, Benny Shot Down His Baby)

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is awful and made me very sad follow me on tumblr @ benny-gecko-official  
> this was all done in the notes of my phone so it's not edited, definitely has mistakes, and has zero formatting

Yes, it seemed like, for once, Benny Gecko had something to celebrate.  
The radio was blaring as the Chairmen celebrated their newfound independence in Vegas. They weren't a tribe anymore, nor House's pawns. They were a true, honest-to-God family. And that really swung.

Benny watched a few of his comrades crank the radio to Radio New Vegas, and he put out his cigarette, taking a sip of the whiskey in front of him. It felt bittersweet - he couldn't place why, though. It was probably that he'd given up so much to get here.  
He glanced at the ring on his finger. Yeah. So much.  
But he could go find her soon. The Mojave Express probably had her records - he could ask them where she went.

"Hey- quiet down, ya fuckin' animals!"  
Swank called out, face flushed from all he'd drank.  
"I wanna hear if the big guy himself got much to say about us."

The reliable voice of Mr. New Vegas crackled to life. Seemed he was interviewing someone, Benny couldn't place who.

"So, you said this Platinum Chip was being delivered by one of your package couriers."

Ah, yeah. Must be one of the head honchos over at the Express. Benny would have to remember his name, talk to him personally about his girl.

"That's right."  
A voice replied.  
"Our courier was killed by an unknown assailant. We'll be seeking repayment from whoever took the chip for what House had valued it at."

Forget about that. Benny had all the caps in the world - he could afford to pay off this lowlife.

"And what did you say the name of this package courier was?"

As if Benny cared. There was only one courier in the damn world he cared about, and that was-

"Columbia. She'd worked for us for about eight years."

Benny froze.  
It was like one of those movie scenes from those tapes he'd grown so fond of. The main guy, the hero, whatever you'd call him, was minding his own business, and everything in him went into slow motion.  
Everything blurred. Benny's mind, his vision, it was all blurry.  
That wasn't right. He'd misheard, obviously.  
He wouldn't-  
She... was-

No. This was all wrong.

Benny stood up and pulled on his suit coat, stepping over to Swank.  
"I gotta take care of a few things. I'll be outta town a few days. You can hold this joint down, right?"

"Sure thing, boss. You alright, though? Look like you're about to lose your lunch."

Benny took in a shaky breath.  
"I'm fine. Just gotta check on something."

\--

Benny didn't know why the fuck he was hauling ass to Goodsprings again. Town was a nothing town full of nobodies, and Benny wanted nothing to do with it.

Nah. What Benny was after was that grave near the edge of it. The one that they'd seemingly put an unengraved marker next to, that they'd finally properly buried, that still had some cigarette butts around it despite clear attempts to clean the grave up.

Benny wasn't a fink. He wouldn't desecrate a grave unless it had to be done.

But this was a 'had to be done' kinda case. He had to be sure it wasn't her.

And as he shrugged his suit coat off, he was actually grinning at how dumb this was. He'd dig up this grave, and he'd find a face he never knew. One that nobody ever new, one that nobody cared about. He'd asked around all about this damn Courier Six - and all he heard was that they had no friends, no family, and they weren't a happy person.

That wasn't like Columbia at all. She was bubbly, and people loved her.

So Benny started digging. Hell, he even sang a little tune to himself to pass the time. Once it was all over, he'd bury this loser again and be on his way back to Vegas. Or maybe he'd stop in Primm first? Find Columbia. Yeah... that sounded nice.

In all his fantasies, they were married. They'd had a beautiful wedding in the casino. She'd worn a dress - which she never did, but she always said she would for him. He wore some suit, didn't matter which one, nothing he wore would put him anywhere in comparison to her. They didn't have kids. Neither of them wanted kids. It was a quiet life, a good life. And Benny was gonna have it in no time at all.

Fuck, this was taking forever. He was sure he'd made this grave shallow-

He hit something.  
It wasn't difficult to guess what. He'd hit a body. He got down and began to uncover it - he probably looked crazy, down on his knees desecrating a grave to prove a point.

But eventually, he got the soil off the body.  
Huh. It wasn't in bad condition, from what he could see - did the Mojave Express really splurge to have their bodies embalmed? Even under the hot sun, the hand he was holding was in pristine condition. Tiny hands, though.  
Familiar...  
Hands-

Benny felt bile in his throat. No, no, he was just seeing things. Lots of hands looked similar. But, just to make sure...  
He kept digging. And digging.

Until a face began to emerge.  
A perfectly-freckled, gorgeous face, with her eyes shut.

...Benny was going to throw up.  
Benny was certain he was going to throw up.

"...You look like an angel, doll."  
His voice was shaky, no emotion behind it.  
"...Even when you, ah... you ain't really there anymore. You still look like a damn angel. How'd you do that?"

He killed her.  
He hadn't even thought about it. He did his little speech, and he'd killed her.

And now, seven years later, here she was. Finally.  
In front of him, covered up with a bunch of dirt.

"Oh, god, doll. I... I had no idea. I'm..."

He laughed. What else was he supposed to do? He laughed. He was talking to a fucking corpse. The corpse of a woman he adored. He kissed the ground she walked on, worshipped her every fucking move, and...  
This was how it ended.

It didn't end with some big fancy wedding in a casino, and drinks, and then one day dying by her side.

It ended here. With his suit dirtied, and Columbia dead in the ground.

"...Did you know? Did you know it was me? For your sake, I really hope you didn't."  
He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't cry. Maybe it was shock. Maybe he felt he didn't deserve to mourn someone he'd killed with no remorse.  
No remorse til now, anyways.

...So she had no friends? No nothing? The day she died, she died with absolutely nobody in the world loving her. Except some man across the damn Wasteland, and the guy pulling the trigger.

"...This ain't real."  
Benny told himself that as he stood.  
"Nah, this is just a fuckin' nightmare. I mean- you didn't... your hair was never that long! And that, right there-"  
He pointed to a birthmark on her neck.  
"I don't remember that lookin' that way! It was smaller... right?"

Fuck. He really sounded crazy.

"...I need a drink."  
Benny pushed the hair out of his face, letting out a sigh.  
"...You want anything?"  
He groaned, kicking the ground.  
"What the fuck am I saying? You can't hear me. I'll be back, doll."

He walked the way to the Saloon feeling utterly alone in the world.

He almost made it there, before a hand grasped his shoulder. He jumped, looking back.  
"Watch where you're-"

He was greeted by the face of an older, kind man. What did he want?  
"Graverobbin' doesn't make too much sense when you don't take anything, now, does it?"

Benny's heart dropped. This old man had seen everything he did. Maybe heard him, too.  
"...I'd say it looks worse than it is. But I'm not sure it gets much worse."

"Yeah. She told me about you."  
That gave Benny pause, and he must've looked confused, because the man elaborated.  
"She was walkin' for a few days. Talked about you a lot."

"...Talked about the guy who shot her?"  
Benny questioned.

"Talked about the man she loved. But she was well aware they were one and the same."  
If God was real, he was sincerely hoping the guy would put him out of his misery right now.

"...I'm not sure I've fucked anything up this bad- uh... ever."  
The man didn't look too mad. He seemed nice enough, so maybe that was why Benny felt ok pouring out his heart a little. He felt like he might fucking explode if he didn't.

"Think this is a bit more than a little mistake, kid."  
The older man patted Benny on the shoulder.  
"So what was your plan? After you got her outta the dirt."

"I don't know if I thought it through past that."  
Benny admitted, starting to pull his jacket back on.  
"Can't exactly carry a dead body back to Vegas, can I?"  
Could he?

"Doubt that'd be very smart."  
The old man smirked at him. It didn't feel taunting. Benny couldn't feel any hatred for the guy who'd seemingly seen Columbia's final days. At least this guy was there. Benny was long gone.  
"You wanna come have a drink and tell me about her?"

"...You sure you want that?"  
Now Benny was tearing up, he felt it.

"Everyone here loved your girlfriend. Like an angel, you know?"

"...Yeah."  
Benny choked back what little pride he still had.  
"...Yeah. I know."

\--

Nobody in Goodsprings knew who kept the grave of Columbia Cosette absolutely overflowing with wildflowers.

Well, except maybe one person.  
Most people didn't even know where a guy would get that many flowers out in the desert. And whenever they started to wilt, more replaced them. And then came a proper grave marker.

But eventually, the flowers did stop.

And basking in the sunset of the Mojave, Swank, on his very first trip to Goodsprings, buried his best friend of so many years. Next to a girl he'd only met in passing as a tribal, but a girl he'd heard so much about.

He didn't buy into that 'dying of a broken heart' nonsense. Benny died when an Omerta shot him in the fucking face during an argument.  
Maybe a fitting way to go, Swank decided, after hearing all he did.

"You better be happy, Ben."  
Swank murmured.  
"I drag your gross corpse all the way out to nowheresville just so you can be with some girl. I hope you understand the kinda dedication that takes."

It wasn't lost on Swank, though, that in the end, Benny got what he wanted. Buried next to the love of his life.

Maybe Benny didn't deserve that, but he got it. And hell, if there was an afterlife, his gal literally had eternity to chew him out.  
He'd be just fine.


End file.
